find the slope of the line passing through the given points. then tell whether the line rises, falls, is horizontal, or is vertical.
(-7,4) (5,-3)

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

use the slope formula
m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

in this case
(x1,y1) = (-7,4)
(x2,y2) = (5,-3)

anonymous

5 years ago

how do I find out whether the line rises, falls..etc ?

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

what did you get for the slope

anonymous

5 years ago

-7/12

anonymous

5 years ago

oh so the line decreases bc it has a negative slope?

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

you nailed it

anonymous

5 years ago

Do you mind if i ask you questions from time to time ? I'm trying to study for a trig final on monday.

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

sure I can help

anonymous

5 years ago

thanks! alright so this question has the same guidelines as the one we just did but with these coordinates (-5/4, 3); (2/3, 3) my friend had an error in her calculator trying to find the slope , but I got m=0 ...im confused

jim_thompson5910

5 years ago

you're correct, it's 0
how do I know so quickly?
notice that the y coordinates are both equal to 3
since the y coordinates are equal, the slope will always be 0 because you have a horizontal line through y = 3